‘Forests can’t survive without communities’
Nepal’s Forest Act of 1993, which allows communities to manage their forests, is admired and emulated by governments and movements across …
On The Warpath
They prefer to be called the 'forest castes'. They are the 2,000,000-odd villagers living in some 10,000 villages across Orissa. After …
Bamboo rising
Five years after it was implemented, the Forest Rights Act finally takes root. Communities across the country rush to claim rights over forests …
‘Forest department is the encroacher’
When V Kishore Chandra Deo became the Union Minister for Panchayati Raj and Tribal Affairs three months ago, both the ministries were in inertia.…
Saga of two villages
Sukhomajri was a dirt-poor village in Haryana. It started pulling itself out of its hole in the late 1970s, making a dizzying ascent to …
Wealth of forests withheld
Forest departments across the country owe millions of rupees to communities. For 20 years communities toiled under the Joint Forest Management …
How government is subverting Forest Rights Act
Does this official data betray a conspiracy? Only 1.6 per cent of the 2.9 million claims approved under the Forest Rights Act recognise community …
Balancing rights and responsibilities: community-based forest governance in Maharashtra
A small village in eastern Maharashtra sets an example of managing community forest resource in a sustainable way
Long overdue change made in new draft of Forest Policy
The new draft National Forest Policy takes into account the paradigm shift in present realities due to climate change
Missing the woods: The story of India’s vanishing forests in 20 cards
Some 25.87 million hectares of forest is missing from the latest assessment of India’s green cover. Here are some cards that tell the story
Gudalur’s Gene Pool Garden is an example of participatory forest management
An enthusiastic conservation effort that was thwarted for want of funds, was finally converted into an eco-tourism centre through people’s …
Weak governance escalating deforestation in Tanzania: FAO report
Of the total land area (88.3 mn hectares) in the African country, 55% is under forest cover. According to 2017 estimates, deforestation occurred …
Stuck in semantics: How confusions over forest land definitions keep benefits away from forest dwellers
Ministry believes that the Chhattisgarh government cannot transfer these lands for any purpose without the prior permission of the Government of India
Can drones replace humans in reforestation tasks?
"Seed bombing" is being looked upon as the best solution to repair deforested land, but complete automation of reforestation is still a long way to go
Shifting under a colonial past
A Myanmarese shifting cultivation technique, once perverted by British colonisers to maximise teak exploitation, is still valued for its benefits
Estimating the potential of community forest rights: What makes implementation challenging
Given the complexity of land and forest settlement in India and the poor quality of land records and maps available, generating an estimate is …
Forest Rights Act: From rights on paper to rights in practice
Local civil society organisations play a vital role in helping forest-dwelling communities assert and exercise their collective rights
Forest tales
The tribal world view that humans can regenerate forests, but not create them, may resolve problems and failures which stalk forest management …
A village betrayed
The people of Salehpur get a raw deal from the forest department of Haryana in return for the services rendered by them
Afforestation: money on the trees
The Compensatory Afforestation Fund Act could redefine forest governance. But will it protect the rights of forest dwellers?
Ripe for a green economy
Forests are home, say women of Kodalpali, Sinduria and neighbouring villages in Odisha’s Nayagarh; they can build the economy of the future
National Forestry Research Plan to focus on climate change
A blueprint for scientific research in forestry, the plan is made every 20 years and was formulated last in 2000
Need to focus on stable forests for climate change mitigation: Study
The research reveals that saving stable forests is more important than just preventing deforestation
Of inclusive conservation and exclusionary orders
Forest-dwelling communities have the capabilities and desire to contribute to wildlife conservation, so why are we dismissing them?
Uttarakhand: 4 arrested for starting fires, policeman dies fighting flames
More than 2,900 hectares of forest have been razed in last three months, and the fires have killed at least four people so far